Aerospace

Swarms of cooperating small UAVs offer the potential to counter hostile defenses at lower cost than conventional weapon systems.

Shoot-on-the-move lasers for Humvees; VTOL long-endurance UAV grows legs; Super Hornet to fly on 100% biofuel; NASA flies X-56A for first time; airship crowdfunding soars past £1 million.

High-energy laser developer says its third-generation tactical weapon is five years ahead in technical maturity compared to fiber laser systems.

The U.S. Navy is working to ready long-endurance air vehicles to fly from warships, swarming small UAVs and long-duration unmanned undersea and surface vessels.

Carbon fiber was a step forward in performance but a step backward in assembly cost. A new European research project aims to make composites assembly quicker and cheaper

Opinions differ over whether the direction in which the automotive industry is taking composites production can be of value to aircraft manufacturers.

Robert Work: Impetus for new “offset strategy” is an urgent concern about “a steady erosion of our technological superiority that we have relied upon for so long in all our defense strategies.”

France takes aim at drones over nuclear plants; turbine engine promise more reliable UAVs; how to make software systems last 100 years; Google’s kite captures wind energy; FAA’s commercial UAS approvals accelerate

Unlike GE, Pratt & Whitney using ceramic matrix composites for rotating engine elements rather than static parts

Suppliers join cost-sharing effort on an advanced-rotorcraft demonstration program that is critical to the future health of the U.S. rotary-wing industry.

USAF’s T-X advanced trainer procurement program is the second largest outstanding undetermined aircraft procurement program in the world.

Just because parts can be produced faster with 3-D printing does not mean engineers can cut corners validating their properties, an additive manufacturing expert warns.

The L1 controller is designed to automatically intervene in the case of control problems.

Flight-control and head-up display changes make landing a Super Hornet on a flightdeck less stressful on the pilot.

Darpa wants to separate payloads from platforms to distribute air warfare; Army offers prizes for lasers that can shoot down mortars and UAVs; Robotic copilot gets a head start; UAV hitches Antarctic balloon ride to 23-km. altitude; Air Force wants a radar that can communicate, navigate and jam.

Cut unwisely now and pay dearly later is the message from U.S. Defense Department science and technology leaders, who fear spending caps threaten development of advanced capabilities that will be needed in future decades.

The digital economy is seeping into every corner of the aerospace and defense industry, and it is just the beginning.

Two German teams are working on a military-funded program that could lead to a world first: an operational air-defense laser.

The technology exists to physically take command away from a pilot and is in operation with the U.S. Air Force.

Mid-size UAV with max-size endurance; Predator-class persistent ISR for small ships; U.S. polysonic tunnel gets a refresh; Israeli AESA guides Lockheed counter-rocket laser; Amazon’s FAA-certified UAS is “obsolete”

A unique NASA truck-mounted wing testbed is laying the foundation for a distributed electric propulsion X-plane demonstrator.

Operator of the FAA’s ADS-B surveillance network sees opportunity to expand its capabilities to enable long-range operations in civil airspace by unmanned aircraft.

Facebook’s solar-powered UAV will be able to stay aloft at 60,000-90,000 ft. altitude for months at a time.

Boeing assesses 787 ecoDemonstrator results as 757 debuts to focus on aerodynamic tests

How well the Clean Sky 2 research program balances near- and long-term technologies could prove crucial to Europe’s civil-aircraft industry